A pilot screening for cognitive impairment through voice technology (WAY2AGE).

Voice technology has grown exponentially, offering an opportunity to different fields, such as the health area. Considering that language can be a sign of cognitive impairment and most screening tools are based on speech measures, these devices are of interest. The aim of this work was to examine a screening tool for Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) through voice technology. For this reason, the WAY2AGE voice Bot was tested across Mini-Mental (MMSE) scores. The main results depict a strong relationship between MMSE and WAY2AGE scores, as well as a good AUC value to discriminate between no cognitive impairment (NCI) and MCI groups. However, a relationship between age and WAY2AGE scores, but not between age and MMSE scores, was found. This would indicate that, even if WAY2AGE seems sensitive to detect MCI, the voice tool is age-sensitive and not as robust as the traditional MMSE scale. Future lines of research should look more deeply into parameters that distinguish developmental changes. As a screening tool, these results are of interest for the health area and for at-risk older adults.

Changing positive and negative affects through music experiences: a study with university students.

BACKGROUND: Currently, there are few empirical studies that demonstrate the effects of music on specific emotions, especially in the educational context. For this reason, this study was carried out to examine the impact of music to identify affective changes after exposure to three musical stimuli. METHODS: The participants were 71 university students engaged in a music education course and none of them were musicians. Changes in the affective state of non-musical student teachers were studied after listening to three pieces of music. An inter-subject repeated measures ANOVA test was carried out using the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) to measure their affective state. RESULTS: The results revealed that: (i) the three musical experiences were beneficial in increasing positive affects and reducing negative affects, with significant differences between the interaction of Music Experiences × Moment (pre-post); (ii) listening to Mahler's sad fifth symphony reduced more negative affects than the other experimental conditions; (iii) performing the blues had the highest positive effects. CONCLUSIONS: These findings provide applied keys aspects for music education and research, as they show empirical evidence on how music can modify specific affects of personal experience.

Psychometric Properties of the Subjective Cognitive Decline Questionnaire (SCD-Q) and Its Invariance across Age Groups.

Considering that a good sense of subjective cognitive decline seems to be crucial to prevent decline before clinical impairment, the interest in examining tools on this front were raised in the last decade. The aim of the present study is to examine the psychometric properties of the Subjective Cognitive Decline Questionnaire (SCD-Q) across age in its Spanish adaptation. It should be noted that two constructs were proposed in this context: mnestic processes and executive function factors. For this reason, a sample of 750 individuals aged from 18 to 82 years participated in the study. They were divided into three different groups: young, middle, and older adults. A confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and invariance analysis were carried out. Moreover, a logistic regression was employed to address the role of age. The results support a good goodness of fit for both uni- and bifactorial models. The invariance analysis reached the structural covariances levels. Last, age did not predict the recognition of cognitive decline in the last two years, while the SCD-Q bifactorial model did. These results are of interest both on a theoretical level, to provide more information on models of cognitive impairment, and on a practical level, for screening.

The Effect of Corrective Feedback in Basic Cognitive Tasks: A Study in Early Childhood.

The aim of this study was to examine the effect of trial-by-trial corrective feedback in a go-no-go task for children. A sample of 40 preschool students, divided into 4- and 5-year-olds, participated in the study, as well as a group of 20 university students. All the groups performed the task in a counterbalanced design of blocks with and without corrective feedback. Reaction time and accuracy rate were measured as dependent variables. Moreover, reaction time was also analyzed through an ex-Gaussian fit. Children were slightly more accurate and slower under the presence of corrective feedback, suggesting a more conservative pattern. University students were faster, but corrective feedback did not reach the statistical level. Regarding reaction time components, a reduction of the distribution tails, depicted by the τ parameter, was found for both groups under the corrective feedback condition. This suggests that parameterization of reaction time can be considered as a strategy for a more detailed analysis to examine the effect of corrective feedback, even at early ages. In this way, corrective feedback depicted beneficial effects in the τ parameter at early ages, suggesting its use in basic cognitive tasks based on go-no-go but not for older groups.

The Moderation Effects of Comparative Thinking Between Gratitude and Negative Affect During the COVID-19 Outbreak.

The aim of this research was to examine the moderation effects of comparative thinking (CT) across the relationship between gratitude and affect during the COVID-19 outbreak. To this purpose, multiple regression as well as moderation analyses were carried out. Age and sex were also addressed as variables of interest as described in previous literature. A sample of 306 north Americans was recruited by crowdsourcing platform ProA to obtain a representative sample based on age and gender. The participants filled in a questionnaire based on comparative thinking in relation to the emotional experience experienced before and during the COVID-19 outbreak, positive and negative affect schedule for positive and negative affect, as well as Gratitude Questionnaire - Six Items Form scores for gratitude. The main results of the current study related to the COVID-19 outbreak can be listed as follows: (i) no differences between CT groups in the gratitude trait, but differences in positive and negative affect did occur; (ii) regression models that included age, gratitude, and affect variables predicted negative and positive affects but gender did not reach the statistical level; (iii) two moderation models predicted affect from gratitude, with the CT variable moderating this effect; this moderation effect was also statistically significant in predicting negative affect but it was not statistically significant in predicting positive affect. These results might be of interest for training programs in applied levels and theoretical models of gratitude.

Individual Differences Facing the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Role of Age, Gender, Personality, and Positive Psychology.

Research on individual differences in facing the COVID-19 pandemic seems to be crucial in order to design diverse and highly effective intervention strategies. This study uses a sample of 302 North American participants who were recruited through the crowdsourcing platform ProA; different profiles were established, profiling variables of interest in facing the COVID-19 outbreak. Socio-demographic and psychological (personality traits, gratitude, life purpose, and religiosity) variables were explored. These results are of interest if we want to deepen the study of individual differences at both a theoretical and applied level.

Effects of the Educational Use of Music on 3- to 12-Year-Old Children's Emotional Development: A Systematic Review.

Interest in the study of emotions in education has grown in recent years. Some of our modern challenges, such as constantly adapting to new scenarios or the need for team work have justified the introduction of emotional competence into educational systems, while diverse studies confirm the relationship between music and emotional intelligence, so that the former could be used as a tool to develop the latter. The aim of this work was to examine the evidence for positive effects of music on the emotions of 3- to 12-year-old children, to which end a systematic review was carried out. Two reviewers independently evaluated 424 studies that were identified in MEDLINE, Psycinfo, and CINAHL databases, in order to determine whether they met the stated inclusion criteria. A total of 26 articles were selected for review. The results suggest several beneficial effects of music on children's development, such as greater emotional intelligence, academic performance, and prosocial skills. It can therefore be concluded that music should be used in school settings, not only as an important subject in itself, but also as an educational tool within other subjects.

Gratitude Questionnaire-20 Items (G20): A Cross-Cultural, Psychometric and Crowdsourcing Analysis.

The use in psychology of crowdsourcing platforms as a method of data collection has been increasing in popularity because of its relative ease and versatility. Our goal is to adapt the Gratitude Questionnaire-20 Items (G20) to the English language by using data collected through a crowdsourcing platform. The G20 is a comprehensive instrument that takes in consideration the different basic processes of gratitude and assesses the construct's cognitive, evaluative, emotional, and behavioral processes. We test the psychometric properties of the English version of the G20 with a Prolific (ProA) user sample. We assess the adequacy of the G20 for the crowdsourcing population in its English version. A description of the characteristics of the participants is conducted. Reliability analyses reveal an optimal internal consistency of the adapted scale. The results are discussed from a cross-cultural vision of gratitude. We conclude that the Gratitude Questionnaire-20 Items (G20), adapted to English with an American sample, is a psychometrically strong instrument to measure gratitude using crowdsourcing platforms for data collection and, therefore, a reference and useful tool in future research.

Psychometric Properties of the Indebtedness Scale (IS-R) in Spanish University Students.

The importance of trait indebtedness in the context of the study of gratitude has been growing in recent years, since both constructs form complex dynamics in response to the reception of a gift. In this work, the disposition to feel indebtedness is studied, through analysis of convergence and divergence, exploratory, and confirmatory analysis in the Spanish population, with the most used measurement instrument, i.e. The Revised Indebtedness Scale, IS-R. This scale depicted a four factor solution interrelated with a high consistency of content, which allows their labeling and describing. To do this, two samples of university students were selected; one of the sample sizes had 229 participants and the other 200 participants. Results also indicated good internal consistency described as follows: Debt for material aspects (α = 0.81), Self-sufficiency and discomfort in receiving help (α = 0.82), Moral self-demand in the reception of help (α = 0.83) and Debt in the receipt of gifts (α = 0.75). Furthermore, it was suggested that the relationships between gratitude and indebtedness are complex: on the one hand, all the indebtedness factors are inversely correlated with gratitude, such as the GQ5, although only Self-sufficiency and discomfort in receiving help and Debt in the receipt of gifts are such to a significant extent. However, the Interpersonal Gratitude scale of the G-20 depicted low correlations only with the Self-sufficiency and discomfort. The results are discussed in relation to the need for conceptual definition of the constructs in Positive Psychology.

Testing Motivational Theories in Music Education: The Role of Effort and Gratitude.

Acquiring musical skills requires sustained effort over long periods of time. This work aims to explore the variables involved in sustaining motivation in music students, including perceptions about one's own skills, satisfaction with achievements, effort, the importance of music in one's life, and perception of the sacrifice made. Two models were developed in which the variable of gratitude was included to integrate positive psychology into the motivational area of music education. The first predicts effort, while the second predicts gratitude. The models were tested using a sample of 84 music students. Both models were fitted using Bayesian analysis techniques to examine the relationship between variables and showed adequate goodness of fit. These models emphasize the role of cognition and motivation in music education and, more precisely, the relationship between effort and gratitude.

Emotional Recognition in Schizophrenia: An Analysis of Response Components in Middle-Aged Adults.

Ageing seems to present a bias towards positive stimuli that might be reflected in response times. However, this process is more complex for middle-aged adults, and even more in schizophrenia. In order to examine this issue, an experimental study was carried out in which 48 participants were divided into two groups: an experimental group of 24 participants diagnosed with schizophrenia and a control group of 24 subjects with no disorders. The main objective of the study was to evaluate response time components according to the emotional valence of the stimulus, to test recognition and discrimination in both groups. A battery of 120 images from the International Affective Picture System (IAPS), representing positive, negative and neutral emotional valences, was employed. Response times were evaluated in terms of analysis of variance, as well as its inherent response times components. The results showed slower responses in the group with schizophrenia than in the control one. Moreover, a poorer performance was depicted in the latency components this group. Finally, a differential deficit pattern for emotion between groups was not found.

The Moderating Role of Intellectual Humility in the Adoption of ICT: A Study Across Life-Span.

Literature has shown age-related differences in the adoption process. In this way, it is very important to encourage the adoption of ICT by the elderly, in order to maintain their independence in daily life. However, some specific cognitive variables were not considered in theoretical models until a decade ago. One of the emerging fields in this area is the science of learnable intelligence, which investigates the role of thinking dispositions. The variable which we have focused on is intellectual humility. For this propose, a sample of 306 participants from 18 to 87 years was selected. Age was selected as a predictor variable. Intellectual humility was tested as a moderator between aging and ICT adoption, more precisely computer and mobile devices. The model fitted the theoretical proposal. However, the subscale known as Independence of the intellect and ego was the only one to fulfill all the requirements for the moderational analysis. The findings suggest a moderational effect that might enhance the ICT adoption. These results are of interest in the field of personal development and training purposes in life-span.

Construcción de un cuestionario para la evaluación de la gratitud: el Cuestionario de Gratitud-20 ítems (G-20) / Construction of a gratitude questionnaire: The Gratitude Question-naire-20 Items (G-20)

Se desarrolló una escala para la medición de la gratitud. Un banco inicial de 50 ítems, construidos y revisados siguiendo criterios precisos, se administró a 330 universitarios españoles (242 mujeres, 72.5%; 88 hombres), con edades comprendidas entre 18 y 43 años, M = 23.33, DT = 4.87. Un Análisis Factorial Exploratorio dio lugar a una solución terminal de 20 ítems con una estructura interna de 4 factores, que se denominó Cuestionario de Gratitud-20 Ítems. Un Análisis Factorial Confirmatorio sobre la matriz de correlaciones policóricas mostró un adecuado ajuste de la escala. La escala y las componentes presentaron consistencia interna entre aceptable y alta. La validez concurrente se comprobó mediante correlación de Pearson con la escala Gratitude Questionnaire–Six Item Form, y la validez discriminante mediante análisis confirmatorio de factores latentes con el Purpose-In-Life Test. Los resultados obtenidos indicaron que las dimensiones del Cuestionario de Gratitud-20 Ítems pueden estar estrechamente relacionadas con la gratitud

A new questionnaire was developed in order to have an instrument for the assessment of gratitude. An original pool of 50 items, constructed and reviewed using accurate standards, was filled out by 330 Spanish undergraduates (242 females, 72.5%; 88 males), aged 18-43, M = 23.33, SD = 4.87. An Exploratory Factor Analysis concluded with the selection of 20 items with an internal four-factors structure, resulting in a scale called Cuestionario de Gratitud–20 Items. A Confirmatory Factor Analysis using the matrix of policorics correlations showed an adequated fit of the model. The questionnaire and the four components showed an internal consistency between acceptable and high. The concurrent validity was checked by means of Pearson's correlation with the Gratitude Questionnaire-Six Items Form, and discriminant validity was checked by means of confirmatory analysis of latent factors with the Purpose-In-Life Test. The results indicated that the dimensions of the Cuestionario de Gratitud-20 Ítems may be closely related with gratitude

Análisis comparativo de dos modelos del Gratitude Questionnaire - Six Items Form / Comparative Analysis of two models of the Gratitude Questionnaire - Six Items Form

El objetivo de este trabajo era contrastar mediante Análisis Factorial Confirmatorio dos modelos de la escala Gratitude Questionnaire - Six Items Form (GQ-6). Los modelos que se contrastaron fueron el de 6 ítems propuesto originalmente por sus constructores y otro de 5 ítems validado por otros autores. Ambos modelos mostraron índices de ajuste que sugerían su adecuación a los datos, por lo que la decisión sobre la elección del mejor modelo fue teórica. El modelo elegido fue el de 5 ítems, que resultó más parsimonioso, ya que con menos reactivos se obtuvo una escala válida y fable. Del mismo se analizaron las características descriptivas, la consistencia interna y la validez convergente y discriminante. Participaron 330 universitarios españoles (242 mujeres, 88 hombres), con edades entre 18 y 43 años, Medad = 23.33; DE= 4.87. Los resultados mostraron una adecuada consistencia interna, validez convergente y validez discriminante de la escala de 5 ítems.

The aim of this study was to compare two models of the Gratitude Questionnaire - Form Six Items (GQ-6) by means of Confirmatory Factor Analysis: the 6 items originally proposed by its builders, and a 5-item validated by other authors. Both models showed fit indices, thereby suggesting adequacy thereof to the data; therefore the decision on choosing the best model was one of a theoretical nature. The 5-item approach was the most parsimonious, so it was chosen as the most appropriate approach as a valid and reliable scale was obtained with less reactives. We analyzed descriptive characteristics, internal consistency and convergent and discriminant validity of this model. The sample included 330 Spanish undergraduates (242 women, 88 men), aged 18-43, Mage = 23.33, SD = 4.87. Results showed an appropriate reliability, convergent validity, and discriminant validity of the 5 items scale.

Análisis factorial confirmatorio de los principales modelos propuestos para el Purpose-In-Life Test en una muestra de universitarios españoles / Confirmatory factor analysis of the main models proposed for the Purpose-In-Life Test in a sample of Spanish undergraduates / Análise fatorial confirmatório dos principais modelos propostos para o Purpose-In-Life Test em uma mostra de universitários espanhóis

En los últimos años varios trabajos han analizado la estructura factorial del Purpose-In-Life Test, instrumento que mide el logro de sentido de la vida desde los planteamientos de la logoterapia, con resultados muy heterogéneos. El objetivo del presente trabajo consistió en poner a prueba distintos modelos propuestos en la literatura anterior, con una muestra de 766 alumnos de dos universidades de la Comunidad Valenciana (España), de los que 220 son hombres y 546 son mujeres, con edades comprendidas entre los 18 y los 36 años (M = 21.96; DT = 3.56). Se realizaron análisis factoriales confirmatorios de dichos modelos y se compararon los valores de ajuste y las estructuras factoriales obtenidas, encontrando apoyo empírico para tres modelos bifactoriales.

In recent years several papers have examined the structure of the Purpose-In-Life Test, which measures the achievement of meaning in life from the approach of logotherapy, having found heterogeneous results. The aim of this study was to test different models proposed in previous literature with a sample of 766 Spanish undergraduates (220 males, 546 females) from two universities of the Valencia Community (Spain), aged between 18 and 36 (M = 21.96; SD = 3.56). Confirmatory factor analysis of these models was conducted. The adjustment values and the factorial structures obtained were compared, finding empirical support for three bi-factorial models.

Nos últimos anos vários trabalhos analisaram a estrutura fatorial do Purpose-In-Life Test, instrumento que mede o sucesso do sentido da vida desde as propostas da logoterapia, havendo sido obtidos resultados muito heterogêneos. O objetivo do presente trabalho consistiu em testar diferentes modelos propostos na literatura anterior, com uma mostra de 766 alunos de duas universidades da Comunidade Valenciana (Espanha), dos quais 220 são homens e 546 são mulheres, com idades compreendidas entre 18 e 36 anos (M = 21.96; DT = 3.56). Realizaram-se análises fatoriais confirmatórias desses modelos e foram comparados os valores de ajuste e as estruturas fatoriais obtidas, encontrando apoio empírico para três modelos bifatoriais.